COMMON NAME: Purple coneflower

SPECIES: Echinacea (ek-i-na'se-a) purpurea; member of Compositae or daisy family

FORM: Clump of many stems, branched, semi-erect and spreading with flowers at end of stems.

SIZE: Height 3-5 feet, spread 2-5 feet.

EXPOSURE: Full sun to light shade.

LEAVES: Dull green, large, coarse texture. Lots of leaves at base of plant, smaller and fewer at top; leaves 2-8 inches long.

VARIETIES: E. purpurea Magnus, flaring pink petals around dark cone, named '98 Perennial of the Year by Perennial Plant Association. Alba, creamy white flowers with coppery tones. Bright Star, rose-red flowers with horizontal petals. Robert Bloom, red-purple flowers with purple-brown center. The King, deep-pink flowers with brown cone. White Lustre, white petals around orange cone. White Swan, bright-white flowers with deep-orange center.  E. augustifolia used to promote wound healing.

FLOWERS: July-September blooms 3-6 inches wide, cone shaped with rim of petals that droop back to stem. Cone dries nicely.

CULTURE: Likes sandy, well-drained soil. Soil should never be soggy, especially in winter. Tolerates wind and sun. Feed lightly; water moderately. Divide clumps every 3-4 years when plant dormant; seed can be sown in spring.

USES: Massed toward back of perennial garden, borders, cut flowers, meadows.

MEDICINAL: Roots and rhizomes of E. purpurea used as bitter, slightly aromatic, alternative herb to stimulate the immune system, promotes healing.

PROBLEMS: Japanese beetles, soggy soil.